Giorgia Green dies after breathing in aerosol deodorant

A teenage girl in the United Kingdom has died after spraying aerosol deodorant in her bedroom and breathing in the fumes — prompting her devastated parents to call for clearer labels on the products warning of the dangers.

Giorgia Green, 14, suffered cardiac arrest and died after breathing in the fumes this past May in what her parents say was a preventable accident.

“People don’t know how dangerous the contents of those tins can be. I would like it so that no one else in the country — or the world — would end up having to go through what we’ve personally gone through,” the girl’s father, Paul, told the BBC.

“We don’t want our daughter’s death to be in vain,” he added.

There’s a warning to “keep out of reach out children” printed on all aerosol deodorants, but Giorgia’s parents say the warning label on the container was small.

The British Aerosol Manufacturers’ Association in response said deodorants have “very clear warnings.”


Giorgia Green
Giorgia’s father said the teen found comfort in spraying the deodorant because it was a product her mother used and smelled like her.
Family Handout

According to her father, Giorgia was autistic and liked to spray the deodorant on her blanket before wrapping the blanket around herself.

“The smell of it gave her a certain sense of relaxation,” he said. “If she was feeling in any way a little bit anxious, she would spray this spray and it would give her a sense of comfort because it’s a deodorant my wife used.”

The girl’s older brother had been the one who discovered she was unresponsive in her room with the door wide open. A coroner determined her cause of death was “unascertained by consistent with inhalation of aerosol.”


Giorgia Green
Giorgia Green’s death was determined to be caused by inhaling aerosol, rather than deodorant.
Family Handout

Her parents made a fundraising page in order to spread awareness that the toxic chemicals found in such products can be deadly.

“So many people have asked what we can do to help. What we really want is to raise awareness about the dangers of aerosol products in the home,” her parents wrote.

“This hopefully could prevent further tragedies happening again. Now, our greatest wish is that beloved Giorgia’s passing is not in vain.”

Another British teen who was similarly obsessed with spray-on deodorant died in the same manner in 2016.


spray aerosol can
Butane, the main ingredient in the deodorant, has been linked to a number of deaths in the UK.
Getty Images

Thomas Townsend, 16, was found collapsed in his bedroom in a children’s home in Folkestone, Kent, by police. Authorities found 42 empty aerosol cans of deodorant, hairspray and other products in the room.

His cause of death was determined to be from butane gas inhalation.